Duke Loses Jack Wohlabaugh to ACL Injury
A pair of Duke players have suffered injuries that will require surgery.
Jack Wohlabaugh, the Blue Devils starting center, suffered a torn right anterior cruciate ligament during practice on Tuesday. He will undergo surgery to repair it next week. The team said that he would be “out of action indefinitely,” but the standard recovery time is usually a minimum of six to nine months.
Wohlabaugh has played in 22 games, starting 18, in his two years at Duke since transferring from Ohio State. He was named an Honorable Mention All-ACC last year.
Will Taylor replaced Wohlabaugh at the end of last season when he was sidelined last season. Duke has played several players at multiple positions on the line to build depth, however, and David Cutcliffe specifically mentioned last week that both Jacob Monk and Casey Holman, tackles last season, had taken snaps at center.
Based on the recent NCAA eligibility ruling, Wohlabaugh, who is in his final year of eligibility, would be able to return next year, if he chooses to.
Duke will also be without redshirt sophomore cornerback Ken Torain, who injured his right shoulder. He’ll also undergo surgery next week and is also described by the team as “out of action indefinitely.”
Torain has only played in one game in his Duke career, but he was having a good camp and had been mentioned by cornerbacks coach Chris Hampton as a player who had earned a shot at more playing time based on his preseason performance.
Both cornerback and safety are deep positions for Duke, and defensive coordinator Matt Guerrieri said that members of the secondary have been cross-training at various positions to build depth.
